air fares to Paris

[amd1234]

We are flying to Paris May 2013...(cruising on Uniworld Burgandy to Provence June 3) Boston to Paris returning Marseille to Paris, Paris to Boston. Question I have been viewing airfares still very high.. Probably about $2700 round trip for two. Do I wait or still check the fares periodically? Is it too soon?:confused: Air France direct...

[huntersyaya]

We flew AF premiere voyageur from Memphis to Paris and back. We loved it. Left Atlanta at 11PM and slept the whole way and then left Paris at 4:45 PM and slept half of the way. It wasn't business class plush but it was soooooo much better than economy in our opinion. Our tickets were about $1900 but we flew Mem to Atl to Paris and after a wk in Paris on to Budapest for a river cruise and then from Nuremberg back to Paris to Atl to Memphis. We thought it was a great deal!

[pixiegirl-loves-travel]

Tuesday and Wednesday nights (after 10PM) are the best times to check fares for flights. Also, check into flying in the middle of the week. Fares are significantly cheaper (usually) between Tuesdays and Thrusdays. When booking our flights to Russia for early July, the best fares were in mid-late January.

 

If they still seem high. Check into flying into London or elsewhere and taking the train into Paris. It might be a lot cheaper.

 

We just got back from our cruise. We flew to London and stayed a few days and then took the train to Paris and back to London to fly home.

 

Good luck with your trip! :)

[Zach1213]

There is no best time to check airfare. I've yet to find solid proof or experience in that as a frequent flier.

 

$1350 per person during peak season sounds around what I would expect, honestly

[FlyerTalker]

Tuesday and Wednesday nights (after 10PM) are the best times to check fares for flights.

Urban legend. Apply the logic test...if that were true, no one would buy tickets at any other time. And airlines would quickly stop such a disparity.

Also, check into flying in the middle of the week. Fares are significantly cheaper (usually) between Tuesdays and Thrusdays.

It is true that day of the week of travel (not purchase) can result in different pricing. That is due to differences in demand. On many USA domestic routes, flying on Tuesday or Wednesday will be cheaper. Thursday is not a cheaper day, especially if flying after noon (business people returning to home office on Thursday is a major factor).

If they still seem high. Check into flying into London or elsewhere and taking the train into Paris. It might be a lot cheaper.

Completely depends on city pairs. In most cases, it is very much the opposite, especially in premium cabins due to UK carbon taxation schemes.

[Hoyaheel]

We flew AF premiere voyageur from Memphis to Paris and back. We loved it.

 

We found PV rates (Sept 2011) that were only about $300 per person higher than coach - RDU-ATL-CDG-ATH....VCE-CDG-ATL-RDU - $1700 per person for that open jaw. I can sleep in coach but my husband cannot - so he was thrilled with the PV seats. Rates I've checked the past few months - premium voyageur is not the same cheap(ish) deal it was last fall.....But always good to check! (this summer, we found first class to Costa Rica only $180 more than coach....technically, flytertalker - if you read this you're the only one who would know or care:p - that was an HUP I fare. But we were aware of the fare rules, it was cheap enough we weren't too concerned, and we were lucky enough not to experience irops....]

[CruiserBruce]

Urban legend. Apply the logic test...if that were true, no one would buy tickets at any other time. And airlines would quickly stop such a disparity.

It is true that day of the week of travel (not purchase) can result in different pricing. That is due to differences in demand. On many USA domestic routes, flying on Tuesday or Wednesday will be cheaper. Thursday is not a cheaper day, especially if flying after noon (business people returning to home office on Thursday is a major factor).

Completely depends on city pairs. In most cases, it is very much the opposite, especially in premium cabins due to UK carbon taxation schemes.

 

Oh, quit using logic and common sense. It just kills the conversation!!! :D;) I heard Tuesday and Wednesday booking is the best deal on the Internet, so it must be true!!!

[FlyerTalker]

OK...I will confess.

 

I've tried to debunk the "day of the week" notion for the sole purpose of keeping other people from getting the prices that I want for myself. If those other folk take them, there's nothing left for me.

 

Having been shamed into admitting that, here's the gospel truth. There is a window from 3:50am to 4:05am GMT Wednesday when airline computer systems reprocess all pricing and inventory numbers worldwide. During this window, prices in the computer are loaded at the net, break-even cost to the airline. Then, profit margins are added on at 4:05am GMT. Which is why the price to the consumer is less in that window - there's no airline markup!! And why you need to jump on buying right then.

 

The reason people think that there is a Wednesday night (USA time) window is because there is backup processing done at the same times (GMT Thursday) to catch city pairs not fully processed on the prior days run.

 

I was made privy to this a few years back when I was seated on a transcon flight next to an airline revenue management analyst. After a few drinks, he told me about his work, how the GDS computers worked, and how prices were loaded. I was sworn to secrecy, but since no one knows you're a dog on the internet, who can trace the leak of this trade secret back to me?

 

And now you know.

 

:)

[6rugrats]

We are flying to Paris May 2013...(cruising on Uniworld Burgandy to Provence June 3) Boston to Paris returning Marseille to Paris, Paris to Boston. Question I have been viewing airfares still very high.. Probably about $2700 round trip for two. Do I wait or still check the fares periodically? Is it too soon?:confused: Air France direct...

I checked airfares last year, SEA-CDG, MRS-SEA (travel in July) and watched them for almost a year. The lowest I ever saw them was ~$1000 in coach on Iceland Air. By the time of our trip this July, they were up to ~$1700 pp.

 

I do not think the fares you are finding are outrageous, and see that the AF flight looks like the only nonstop (at least on the way there, you have a connection on the way back). No way to tell if prices will drop. I can tell you that the nonstop flights are very popular and will probably be the first to sell out.

 

I personally would wait, but I have no crystal ball either.

 

technically, flytertalker - if you read this you're the only one who would know or care - that was an HUP I fare.

I think many readers of this thread know what type of fare this is. Whether they care or not I can't say.

[waterbug123]

We are flying to Paris May 2013...(cruising on Uniworld Burgandy to Provence June 3) Boston to Paris returning Marseille to Paris, Paris to Boston. Question I have been viewing airfares still very high.. Probably about $2700 round trip for two. Do I wait or still check the fares periodically? Is it too soon?:confused: Air France direct...

 

$1350/person round trip to Europe at the start of tourist season is fairly normal.

 

As to your question about buying now vs. waiting...

Forget about what you WANT to pay, and ask yourself two questions:

A) Am I willing and able to pay $1350/person?

B) Am I willing and able to pay MORE than $1350/person?

 

If the answer to A is yes AND the answer to B is no, buy now. If you wait, prices may go up, and you'll have to cancel your trip (since you said you cannot/will not pay more). "But maybe they'll go down," you say. Yes, maybe they will. But they may just as easily go up, and if you answered "no" to B, you cannot afford to chance it, unless you're willing to cancel your trip.

 

If the answer to both A and B is yes, then you can afford to gamble and wait to see if prices go down, knowing that if they go up, you can still buy the tickets.

 

If the answer to A is no, it doesn't matter what the answer to B is; you have no choice but to wait. If that's the case, maybe you'll get lucky and prices will drop. Otherwise you'll be canceling your trip.

[Gardyloo]

OK...I will confess.

 

I've tried to debunk the "day of the week" notion for the sole purpose of keeping other people from getting the prices that I want for myself. If those other folk take them, there's nothing left for me.

 

Having been shamed into admitting that, here's the gospel truth. There is a window from 3:50am to 4:05am GMT Wednesday when airline computer systems reprocess all pricing and inventory numbers worldwide. During this window, prices in the computer are loaded at the net, break-even cost to the airline. Then, profit margins are added on at 4:05am GMT. Which is why the price to the consumer is less in that window - there's no airline markup!! And why you need to jump on buying right then.

 

The reason people think that there is a Wednesday night (USA time) window is because there is backup processing done at the same times (GMT Thursday) to catch city pairs not fully processed on the prior days run.

 

I was made privy to this a few years back when I was seated on a transcon flight next to an airline revenue management analyst. After a few drinks, he told me about his work, how the GDS computers worked, and how prices were loaded. I was sworn to secrecy, but since no one knows you're a dog on the internet, who can trace the leak of this trade secret back to me?

 

And now you know.

 

:)

I have reported this to the Ministry of Magic and they are cutting your ticket to Azkaban.

[amd1234]

Thanks to everyone that responded about the airfares. So much info love it:)

[Alaskanb]

i have reported this to the ministry of magic and they are cutting your ticket to azkaban.

lol :d

[grandma*knows*best]

 

If they still seem high. Check into flying into London or elsewhere and taking the train into Paris. It might be a lot cheaper.

 

Unless you got an amazing fare to London, this option would never be cheaper than flying directly to Paris. Plus it adds a lot more travel and hassle time.

 

OP - the fares you are seeing are pretty much what they have been for quite a while.

[hubofhockey]

We are flying to Paris May 2013...(cruising on Uniworld Burgandy to Provence June 3) Boston to Paris returning Marseille to Paris, Paris to Boston. Question I have been viewing airfares still very high.. Probably about $2700 round trip for two. Do I wait or still check the fares periodically? Is it too soon?:confused: Air France direct...

 

From Boston, my advice is to first check round trip Boston-Paris on Icelandair. Icelandair and Aer Lingus are the two airlines that fly from Boston to Europe that provide good fares. Second, look into using the Eurostar train from Marseille to Paris.

[kenish]

OK...I will confess.

 

Having been shamed into admitting that, here's the gospel truth. There is a window from 3:50am to 4:05am GMT Wednesday when airline computer systems reprocess all pricing and inventory numbers worldwide.

 

Sorry but you're just plain wrong. It's 3:50am to 4:05am BST, not GMT, since it's summer right now in the Northern Hemisphere :D